AMESBURY booked their place in the final of the Dorset and Wiltshire Senior XV Plate after a 24-19 victory.

The game was played in demanding conditions with Amesbury starting the game with the wind to their backs.

The initial kick off went straight to touch from Cricklade and from the resulting scrum Amesbury forced their was y deep into the opponents 22.

A penalty followed and from 5 meters out the Amesbury No 8 crashed over the line and a conversion followed to make it 7-0.

Cricklade were next on the score sheet with an unconverted try.

The game ebbed and flowed with both teams looking to play attacking rugby, the Amesbury scrum dominating the set piece and Cricklade’s intention to run with ball in hand from anywhere brought around a half time score so Amesbury led 12-5 at the break.

The second half mimicked the first with both teams showing real endeavour to bring about the try scoring opportunities and with the scores perched at 24-19 Amesbury, the forwards played some really intelligent rugby and kept the play tight for the last five minutes to run the clock down and ultimately see out the game.

Although there was a penalty awarded to Cricklade in the final minute of the game, the kick to touch was unsuccessful and Amesbury cleared the ball to secure their second successive final in the competition.

The game was played in good spirits and with Cricklade being in the league that Amesbury are aspiring to promote to next season, they provided a real test.

One which was eventually overcome to see a final of Amesbury against Lychett Minster on December 1.

There were a number of strong performances this weekend, but notable the Amesbury pack set a strong platform from which to attack and the whole teams defensive effort was nothing short of heroic.